What room
is there left for religion in our society?
When you talk with most teenagers about religion, and more precisely about Catholicism, they will most often say that religion is stupid, that it is for losers, that there is no God. They think that people only believe in God because they can't believe in anything in the “real” world, and that religion is their way of finding hope. God, for them, is not real, and religion is a fairy tale. And if you ask them about the Vatican, teenagers will say that the Pope is an old man who is out of touch and that he has to change his attitude on issues such as contraception. I can see why teenagers have prejudices against Catholicism, but I think you should not judge something if you do not know it properly.
When you talk with most teenagers about religion, and more precisely about Catholicism, they will most often say that religion is stupid, that it is for losers, that there is no God. They think that people only believe in God because they can't believe in anything in the “real” world, and that religion is their way of finding hope. God, for them, is not real, and religion is a fairy tale. And if you ask them about the Vatican, teenagers will say that the Pope is an old man who is out of touch and that he has to change his attitude on issues such as contraception. I can see why teenagers have prejudices against Catholicism, but I think you should not judge something if you do not know it properly.
Today,
it is difficult to be a Catholic because people laugh
at you for living in a make-belief world... Our society has
evolved, sure, but so has Catholicism! You will not be punished if
you are not a virgin when you get married! You can live your faith
the way you want. And this fact is very important today in
Catholicism; you are not compelled to pray every day, you can pray
when you want, how you want, with the words you want. The most
significant element of your prayers is faith. Your faith is built
on your hopes, your desire, your needs and your strengths. God can
help and support you, when you need Him. Perhaps He does not exist,
perhaps He does, but that is the point of having faith! I think there
is something magic and mysterious in faith.
Moreover, from my point
of view, the Vatican has progressed as regards young people. There
are more happy songs in the churches, the priests organize special
masses for teenagers, and John Paul II launched the World Youth Days.
The WYD are just fabulous and amazing, even if you are not a
believer. Young people from every country in the world meet up in a
capital once every three years. We all sing and dance and laugh
together. It is a wonderful experience; you have to live it at least
once in your life!
1 comment:
Your opinion about the religion is very interesting. Thank you for this article !
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